Tag Archives: Android

I’m a slob when it comes to charging my various and sundry electronic devices, I admit it. I plug everything into an industrial-strength power strip, toss it all on the floor while whispering a short prayer to the gadget gods that my children don’t break any of them them during their frequent bursts of manic energy.

Quick sidebar. My kids can’t be the only ones that suddenly tear through the house like cats after a visit to the litter box?

Anyhoo…

Despite the occasional gadget trampling by the young ones, I never felt the need to switch-up my power game. Then — as if on cue — the good folks at udoq rocked my charging world by sending me their 400mm docking station, the udoq400, for review.

The udoq was developed, patented and designed in Germany by Marcus Kuchler who envisioned these docks as one-size fits all, simple, flexible and sustainable charging stations for smartphones, tablets, digital music players and e-readers.

The killer feature of the udoq is how easy it is to customize. I was able to swap the proprietary Apple Lightning connectors that came with the demonstration model I tested and add a USB-C cable to charge a Nintendo Switch.

The udoq also comes in Android flavors and their shop sells Apple 30-pin connectors and the aforementioned USB-C adaptors to cover pretty much any slate-like device you’re looking to use. The cables slide into the docking station’s rail to let you mix and match your gizmos.

Now here comes the part where I pump your brakes a little. The price of udoq ranges from $89 dollars for just the 250mm rail to $248.50 for the tricked-out 700mm Apple version.

That’s some serious dinero, even for an impeccably designed brushed aluminum charger that’s designed to last for decades.

By the way, have I mentioned how good it looks? Well it does. The udoq400 I was putting through its paces was very, VERY snazzy. It’s definitely a luxury gadget for people who concern themselves with both aesthetics and function.

The tangled mess of cables, tablets and smartphones strewn all over the floors of Casa Kaiser was how I always did things. It never occurred to me that there was a better way until I spent a few days with the udoq400. I was almost immediately struck by the realization that this high-end docking station was everything I never knew I needed for my beloved gadgets.

To put it as succinctly… my doodads and geegaws have never looked better while juicing up!

If it’s September, Apple has a new iPhone to sell you. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss this year’s crop of gear, along with news from FitBit, Amazon and GoPro. And, as election season looms closer, J.D. has some advice and links for those who see misinformation on social-media sites and want to stop it from spreading. Buckle up for Episode 287, y’all!

While the tussles between politicians and Big Tech heat up as August sizzles to a close, El Kaiser and J.D. sip fizzy water in the shade and explore the accusations and rebuttals coming from both sides of America’s political divide. Apple’s latest acquisition, Twitter’s recent experiment and a blockchain that few people realized was hiding in plain sight are also in the news mix this week, and J.D. has a (Hopefully) Helpful Hint about hopefully helping friends and family with their computer problems, even when you’re miles away. Crank up the air conditioner and PTJ 285!

In this week’s show, J.D. and an overworked El Kaiser discuss the week’s news, including Google’s big fine and Amazon Prime Day’s big fail. There’s also an exciting turn of events for those wishing rocket jet-packs were real. J.D. also has a (Hopefully) Helpful Hint about making your Windows PC or Mac clean up after itself. Hear it all now on Episode 281!

It’s been a week of heavy legal news, deals and global affairs — almost enough to make you want to escape to a fantasy realm to take a break over a pint of butterbeer. El Kaiser and J.D. sort through the stories of the week before moving on to a discussion of how the Harry Potter franchise is keeping active far beyond the original seven books. PTJ 277 awaits behind that Play button — Alohomora!

If it’s early June, odds are the technology-news business will be dominated by announcements coming out of Apple’s annual World Wide Developers Conference. However, new revelations about Facebook’s privacy practices did draw attention and even CEO Tim Cook found time to comment — as Apple unveiled new tools designed to hamper companies like Facebook who have been quietly hoovering up personal data from unsuspecting users for years. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss the week’s events and a few other non-Apple headlines on this week’s episode before offering a (Hopefully) Helpful Hint about recording a video of the action on your phone screen. Roll PTJ 275 to hear it all!

California fires a shot across the bow of the FCC’s net neutrality repeal, Amazon’s Alexa has a new do-it-yourself project for users and even aquariums aren’t safe on the Internet of Things. El Kaiser and J.D. sort through the technology news of the past 10 days before discussing a great vacation destination for aviation and NASA nerds: The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virgina, home to the National Air & Space Museum’s big collection of airplanes and spacecraft. Jump into it all here in Episode 270 of Pop Tech Jam!

The Pi Day Northeast Blizzard of 2017 may have blown through, but El Kaiser is still powering through a nasty winter cold to get to this week’s tech and science news with J.D. — which features quite a bit of hacker activity, as well as an update on our old friend Boaty McBoatface. Episode 226 here also takes a look at public beta programs you can join to see the latest software first. Interested? Just push play to find out more!

If you’re still clinging to a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 — even though the highly flammable device has been officially recalled — Samsung is coming for you with a phone-bricking update in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, the bacon emoji has arrives in iOS 10.2, Netflix is getting all up in the virtual reality and you can now use Dropbox from your Xbox. Also in this week’s episode, El Kaiser presents his Tech Term of 2016 and J.D. has a (Hopefully) Helpful Hint on replacing your smartphone battery. Just press Play!

What’s your sign? It might not be what you think. Hey, don’t blame us, blame NASA. On this week’s episode the Dynamic Duo go through the week’s tech (and geek) news; J.D. fills us in on a certain bird-themed micro-blogging service that’s had quite a busy past few weeks; and El Kaiser gets his rant on.